A Little Collection of Imam al-Jawad (AS) Maxims

There are quoted in Tuhaf al-Uqoul a large collection of maxims of Imam Muhammad bin Ali Taqi Al-Jawad (AS), who was martyred on Dhol-Qa'adah 29 … following are some of these:

As a man asked him for an advice, Imam Al-Jawad said:

Put your head on steadfastness, embrace poverty, reject the lusts, oppose your passions, and know that you cannot be out of God’s sight. Consider how you should behave, then Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

God revealed to one of His prophets: Your asceticism will give you comfort. Your devotion to Me will endear you to Me. But, did you antagonize My enemies and cherish My disciples?

It was related that highway robbers stole the large amounts of cloth that belonged to Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him). The head of the caravan sent the Imam a message in which he informed him of that news. The Imam (peace be upon him) answered him:

Our souls and riches are within the pleasant gifts and the deposited loans of God Who makes us enjoy some of them pleasantly and delightedly and seizes whatever He wills with rewards and merits. He whosever intolerance overcomes his steadfastness will waste his rewards. God protect us against so.

Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

He who detested a matter that he witnessed is as same as those who were absent from it, and he who was absent from a matter that he loved is as same as those who witnessed it.

Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

He whoever listens to a caller is serving him. If the caller was God’s representative, he is then serving God. If the caller was the Shaitan’s representative, he is then serving the Shaitan.

Dawud bin Al-Qasim related: I asked Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) about the meaning of ‘samad’. He said:

Everything that lacks navel is ‘samad’.

I said that people claim that ‘samad’ is everything that lacks interior. Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) commented:

Everything that lacks interior lacks navel.

Abu Hashim Al-Ja’fari related: On the wedding day of Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) and Ummul-Fadhl, daughter of Al-Ma’mun, I said: “O master, the blessing of this day is clearly great for us. The Imam (peace be upon him) learned:

O Abu Hashim, God’s blessings in this day has been great for us.

“Yes, master,” I said, “What should I say about the day?” Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) answered:

Say only good things about the day so that you will be given from these good things.

“Master,” I said, “I will follow this instruction completely.” The Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

You will be guided to the right and you will see only the good if you adhere to this instruction.

Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) wrote to one of his disciples:

We are only ladling from this world. He whose belief and religion are the same as his acquaintance will surely accompany that acquaintance everywhere. The life to come is surely the remaining abode.

Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

Delay of repentance is deception, excessive procrastination is perplexity, arrogance against God is perdition, and insistence on sins is security against God’s unexpected retribution. No one can consider himself secure from the retribution of God except those who are lost.

A cameleer who took Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) from Medina to Al-Kufa asked for more money after the Imam had given him four hundred dinars. The Imam (peace be upon him) said:

How strange is this! Do you not know that God’s increasing gifts will be stopped when the servants stop showing Him gratitude?

Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) accepted the pledge of allegiance of women by dripping his hand in a bowl of water, and when he took his hand out, women dripped their hands in that bowl and declared the shahada, faith in God, and believing in the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the matters they had to acknowledge.

Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

To show a matter before preparing for it properly is spoiling it.

Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

A believer is in need of successfulness from God, a self-preaching, and accession to the advisers.